The making of 'Made in Europe'

Brussels Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.4 • 204 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Made in Europe” is finally here. After four delays and fierce internal battles, the European Commission unveils its Industrial Accelerator Act — a plan aimed at challenging China’s dominance in clean tech and tilting public procurement toward EU-made products. Ian Wishart and senior finance reporter Kathryn Carlson break down what the push really means: Who stands to benefit, who fears creeping protectionism, and whether Brussels is turning inward at a fragile moment for global trade. Meanwhile, the Iran war is already pushing up gas prices and shipping insurance costs — and splitting Europe’s far right. Plus: The EU manages to mess up its translator exam … again.We’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you think about the podcast, suggest a topic we should cover, or let us know where — and when — you like to listen. You can reach us at our WhatsApp: +32 491 05 06 29. **A message from Amazon: Across Europe, businesses are growing with the AWS Cloud to build innovative, scalable products. From Europe’s largest enterprises and government agencies to the continent’s fastest growing startups, learn more about how AWS Cloud is helping businesses across Europe grow at ⁠AWS.eu⁠.** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is presented by Amazon.
0:03.4	60% of sales on Amazon come from independent sellers.
0:07.3	Across Europe, over 280,000 small and medium enterprises
0:11.9	partner with Amazon to grow their business.
0:14.7	Learn more at aboutamazon.e.u.
0:18.2	Good morning. It's Wednesday, March the 4th and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast.
0:29.6	The vibe in Brussels today is, it's complicated because the Iran conflict seems to have sent a lot of European political parties,
0:38.4	especially the far right, as to be said, into a tailspin.
0:41.5	And that's our main story today, how the parties like Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France
0:46.0	and alternative for Germany, the FD, are struggling to know what to think about the US-Israeli
0:52.7	airstrikes and the toppling of Iran's supreme leader.
0:56.3	Also on the podcast today, we'll look at the connected issue of how the Iran war might affect
1:01.0	energy prices in Europe. We'll talk about the European Commission's long-awaited master plan
1:05.8	to boost industrial decarbonisation and traditional manufacturing, more exciting than it sounds, believe me,
1:12.3	and the EU has messed up its translator exams again, and people are angry again. I'm Ian Wishart. I'm
1:20.0	sitting in for Zoya today, who unfortunately has lost her voice. Get well soon, Zoya. Have to say,
1:26.4	it's a lot quieter in the office today,
1:28.1	unfortunately. With me is our senior finance reporter instead. Catherine Colson again, hi Katie.
1:33.8	Hi, Ian. Are you enjoying the sunny weather? I am. I should say it's unseasonal, but I'm happy
1:39.5	that spring is arriving. I was at the San Gilles market on Monday. Very nice. A few natural
1:43.6	wines. A few. A few natural wines. A few.
1:46.3	A few, just a restrained amount. Okay, let's start with Iran again, obviously, because the war in the
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